A new movement against “Islamofascism”?

I am all for new anti-jihad movements. The more the better. There is certainly a great deal of work to be done, and no one can say he is doing it all or can do it all himself. And now here is, possibly, a new attempt to put together a movement: “A new movement against radical Islam?: Modeled after anti-Communist efforts, activists plot strategy,” from WorldNetDaily.com, with thanks to DC Watson:

WASHINGTON — Two conservative activists deeply involved in the anti-communism movement of the past are planning a broad strategy of re-creating those efforts in a new mass movement to fight radical Islam.

Jack Wheeler, a strategist credited with formulating “the Reagan Doctrine” that helped bring down the Soviet Empire, and Steve Baldwin, a former California legislator and the executive director of the Council for National Policy, have teamed up for what they describe as the creation of an “Anti-Islamofascism Movement.”

“One cannot write the history of the Cold War without acknowledging the key role played by the American Anti-Communist Movement,” they write in a memo to conservative leaders. “It was a broad movement involving many different organizations that, for decades, kept its focus on the defeat of the Soviet Empire. And it succeeded.”

[…]

They say the current war of global conquest being waged by Islamofascists will be an even tougher fight than the battle that focused on the Soviet Union.

“But we don’t seem to be prepared for this war,” they write. “Unlike the movement created during the Cold War, there doesn’t seem to be much of an infrastructure to combat Islamofascism.”

The agenda for such a movement should include the following activities and efforts, they say:

* investigate radical mosques

* support anti-Islamofascist freedom fighters

* thwart attempts to impose Sharia law

* form an anti-Islamofascist publishing network

* create an anti-Islamofascist portal on the Internet

* establish an anti-Islamofascist speakers bureau

* wage an ideological assault on Islamofascism

* support efforts to evangelize Muslims in Europe and the Middle East

* create a global anti-Islamofascist coalition

* reframe the illegal immigration issue as one of national security

* end dependence on foreign oil that’s funding the Islamofascists.

Planning meetings through regular teleconferencing are already underway. There is a new secure Internet forum where ideas are being exchanged. There is also an e-mail address where those interested in the “movement” can make their intention known — 910-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

This all sounds great. As one who speaks around the country against Islamofascism and has created an anti-Islamofascist portal on the Internet, and who has long advocated that we investigate radical mosques, support anti-Islamofascist freedom fighters, thwart attempts to impose Sharia law, wage an ideological assault on Islamofascism, support efforts to evangelize Muslims in Europe and the Middle East, create a global anti-Islamofascist coalition, reframe the illegal immigration issue as one of national security, and end dependence on foreign oil that’s funding the Islamofascists, I am glad to see others taking up the cudgels.

One small caveat: last year Wheeler said in an interview that I had “a problem claiming Attaturk’s [sic] abolishment of the caliphate (which is only relevant to the Sunnis anyway) is the cause of jihadism — namely, the half-century gap between the two.” I think Wheeler is a good guy, but if he thinks jihadism originated in the mid-1970s, I have very serious doubts about his ability to formulate effective strategies to combat it. This is a deeply traditional movement with very deep roots in Islamic tradition and theology. Unless we come to grips with that, we simply won’t be dealing with its motives and goals as effectively as we could be.

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